Bottle stopper



N.l 1. WML

BOTTLE STOPPER.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 28. |919.

Ptented Deo. 9,19194 l/vvE/vron 'Y lArm/mfr UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEIcE.

NORA J. WATT, 0E KEW GARDENS, NEW YORK, AsseNoE, To JAMES A. WATT, 0E NEW YORK, N. Y. 1' i BOTTLE-STOPPER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application led February 28, 1919. Serial No. 279,715.

vented certain new and useful Improvements in Bottle-Stoppers, of which the .following is a full, clear, and exact description,

whereby any one skilled inthe art may make and use the same.

The invention, as indicated by its title, is for a bottle stopper', although it relates particularly to a stopper having characteristics of giving a hermetic seal and embodying features by which it may be removed and re-inserted at will, without breaking the structure of the stopper or piercing it in such a manner that it will leak or permit the passage of air. As illustrated and described herein, the invention is shown as embodied in a cork and in conjunction with the neck of a bottle.

The object of the invention is to provide an extremely efficient and very economic type of combined stopperl and extractor, which will effectually seal the opening to a receptacle, and incidentally embodies a selfcontained means for extracting the stopper.

A` further object is to provide a stopper having a self-contained extractor by which the stopper may be withdrawn and which will in no way impair the usefulness of the stopper, but will enhance its value as a stopper, making it liquid and lair tight throughf out itsI lowerrv end and appurtenant to the ex- Y tracting element.

One of the principal objects of the invention is to provide a means which will lift the cork through applying pressure to the bottom or adjacent to the bottom, rather than at tlietop or intermediate portions of the' stopper, without liability of tearing or disturbing the structure of the cork or stopper, and at the same time providing a resilient extractor whichmay be neatly folded and compressed and secured to thetop of the corkv or stopper.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure l is a sectional view through a bottle with the stopper applied thereto.

Fig. 2' is a similar view illustrating the method ofv re-inserting the extractor.

Patented Dee. 9, 19197. i

Fig. 3 is a plan view illustrating the disposition of the extractor ontop ofthe cork.

Fig. 4L illustrates the method of applying the extractor to the cork.

Fig. 5 illustrates a side viewl of the stopper with the extractor folded down as in Fig. 3. y

The device contemplates the use of any suitable material for silient exible extracting member, preferably of a fibrous nature,

which is so inserted and correlated with the cork as'toV form an efficient structure without impairing the utility of the cork or reducing the efficiency thereof. A

It is, of course, old in the art to provide .extractors for Stoppers or the like, there being many devices including the well known corkscrewfA and even self-contained extractors such as wire Vloops and other devlces. Y

A corkscrew is objectionable in that it must be inserted and screwed into the cork and very often pierces the cork. At any rate, the size of cork in a measure limits the practicability of utilizing a corkscrew as, if it is made sufliciently delicate to be used with very small corks, it has not the sufficient strength to be serviceable. It also follows that a large corkscrew compresses the liber of the cork,

swelling it into the neck of the bottle, thus making it harder to remove the cork. It is also a fact that corkscrews in any ferm either pierce or break down the structure of the cork to an extent to make it practically useless as a stoppe-r after it has once been'withdrawn.

Such devices as enumerated are also obof the extractor within the substance of the.,

cork bytransverse pins or other suitable anchors, or encircling the stopper, thus giving opening for leakage between the stopper and the neck. which embody a loopY member passing enthe stopper with a re- There are also extractors;

tirely through the cork and with the loop engaging a button which is pulled back against or within the bottom of the cork, forming an anchor for the loop. Metallic extractorsI have also been provided extending into or through the cork and having their enos cast into materials forming an anchor. My device, however, diers entirely from these in that it employs a loop of flexible brous material capable of impregnation, the ends of which are joined by an iinv pregnating material forming an anchor and juncture for the free ends of the loop and an impregnating seal for the structure of the stopper at its lower end. Many of these devices are provided with a linger loop serving as a suitable grip with which to withdraw the cork.

The present invention has for its principal object the overcoming of disadvantages encountered in such devices enumeratedfirst, by providing a flexible fibrous extractor; secondly, by anchoring the ends of the extractor within the cork, thus providing a loop for withdrawing the stopper; and thirdly, to form a combined sealrand anchor for the extractor and the cork.

In the accompanying drawings, a, indicates the neck of a receptacle to which is applied the cork or stopper b. This stopper may be of any suitable material and, as illustrated, is of ordinary cork which may be softened and inserted in the neck to completely seal it in the ordinary well known manner.

Extending centrally through the cork h, is a flexible fibrous extractor or pull member c, the two ends CZ, c, of which project to the lower end of the cork, while the cen` tral intermediate portion is formed into a. loop f, which serves as a. pull loop. This loop may be tucked back as indicated in Figs. 2 and 3 and, when so arranged, forms a bow-like structure lying fiat upon the surface of the cork.

In inserting the pull member, the Hexible cord or fiber may be of a continuous length, as indicated at g, passing through a suitable needle h. This needle is then passed through the cork, from bottom to top, a sufficient distance to form one side c', of the loop Upon its backward movement, its opposite side i', is formed and the end of the thread is drawn back to the lower portion of the cork.

In order to provide suitable anchorage for the pull member and overcome faults in the cork structure, the lower end of the cork is cupped away as at j, forming a recess into which the ends of the flexible pull member extend.

A sufficient wall is maintained between the edge j', of the cup-like orifice and the peripheral edge 7c, of the cork to permit of suitable compression of the cork, thus giving the necessary springage for insertion and removal'or the same from the neck of a bottle. After the flexible pull member is inserted centrally of the cork, a sealing material is forced into the cup j, about the flexible cord; and by applying suitable pressure, (as for instance an air pressure) this sealing material is forced up along the fiber of the pull member, completely sealing the opening formed by the needle as well as the cup-like recess j.

A quick hardening material is employed and one which will impregnate the fiber of the flexible pull member, as well as the area of the cork, immediately surrounding the opening y', and needle opening.

ln the use of corks, it is often found that there are porous portions adjacent to the inner end of the cork where it is desired to have the airtight seal. Tt is possible, by forcing the anchorage material into the cork at this point, to close any such seams or openings as might not appear on the surface of the cork but which might serve as leakage ducts from the bottom to the sides thereof.

Tt will be observed from the above that the lower extremities of the pull member are firmly joined together by the sealing ma erial, and that the material forms an anchor of substantial dimensions relative to the base of the cork and incidentally seals the base thereof. Furthermore, the sealing material is forced along the needle opening and contained flexible pull member, securely Vsealing said opening and providing what in substance is a continuation of the anchor member resting in the cup or depression j.

The use of the flexible fibrous pull has many advantages in that it is a single piece structure, the two ends of which are anchored near the bottom of the cork. Being flexible and compressible, a very small perforation formed by the needle will take the cord and the anchorage material will effectually seal the openino.

As a result of the structure, the cork may be lifted from the bottom of the cork structure, there being no liability of tearing the cork. It may be used over and over again and will always be efficient as a closure.

The type of structure hereinabove described is particularly well adapted for use in the many compounds .used as household articles where it is necessary to open and close the receptacle frequently. This is particularly true of such articles as ammonia, listerine, dioxygen, and many materials where deterioration occurs through evaporation or air leakage unless there is a perfect seal.

Ordinarily, removal of the cork with a corkscrew breaks down the cork structure to such an extent as to either detract from its sealing properties, or to wholly destroy it.

iio

The stopper herein described may be used over and over without liability of losing its effectiveness or efficiency. The pull member which is of soft, though strong, fiber lends itself to close packing of the articles.

The device is particularly well adapted for use with comparatively thin Stoppers, such as are employed in bottles containing eifervescent salts, which slack under the conditions resulting from comparatively slight air leakage. A thin stopper of this type is, of course, sealed as to its bottom by the anchor, and a suiiicient anchorage is provided for the pull member without breaking down any of the structural form of the cork. In contradistinction to this, it is practically impossible to use a corkscrew `or other extracting device inasmuchas perforations occur which permit air leakage if not the contents of the receptacle.

lVhat I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letter Patent is:

l. A bottle stopper having a body-part, a flexible fibrous pull member extending through said body-part, and having its loose ends sealed in the lower end of the bodypart. Y

2. A bottle stopper having a body-part, a recess at the lower end thereof, a loop of flexible fibrous material extending above the body-part and with its opposite free ends extending into the, recess, and a sealing material impregnating said ends and the body-part adjacent thereto and filling the recess and forming an anchor for the pull member.

3. A bottle stopper having a body-part, a flexible fibrous loop projected through the body-part from bottom to top, and with its free ends joined together in an impregnating seal at the bottom of the body-part.

4f. In combination with a stopper, a flexible fibrous loop having its ends cemented together, said ends and cement forming an anchor for the loop within the stopper.

5. In combination with a stopper, a flexible fibrous extractor having a loop extending through the stopper, said loop being folded back and rentered in the top of the stopper, and a cement joining the free ends of the fiexible member and forming an anchor therefor within the stopper.

6. In combination with a stopper, an extractor comprising a exible fibrous loop extending through the stopper, a cement joining the free ends of the flexible extractor and forming an anchor, said cement impreghating the material of the extractor within the stopper and the stopper about the extractor and forming a closure between the extractor' and stopper. v

7. A combined stopper and extractor therefor formed by piercing the stopper in passing therethrough a loop of flexible` fibrous material, arranging a recess at the bottom of the stopper about the free ends of the loop, and forcibly injecting an impregnating sealing material into the recess and -body of the stopper about the loop to join the ends of the loop and provide an anchor Yand seal the structure of the stopper about the pull-member.

' NORA J. WATT. Witnesses:

MANUEL E. AMADOR,

J om. FowLER. 

